In Pacific International Insurance Co Ltd v Walsh [2018] NSWCA 9, the NSW Court of Appeal has prevented the insurer from relying on a personal injury/property damage exclusion to deny indemnity to its insured.

No doubt the insurer in this matter thought the exclusion in its professional indemnity policy was clear – no cover for personal injury or property damage claims. Not so, says the NSW Court of Appeal, as long as the claim arises out of the professional risk which has been insured against. The Court found that to hold otherwise would be to undermine the very purpose for which the policy had been issued.

The case also has some helpful reminders on policy construction and primacy of clauses when reading general conditions and specific endorsements together to interpret the insurance contract.

Read more here.